Mountfield, (East Sussex)

Mountfield is a small village five miles north-west of Battle. The name derives from Munda's field or land, the name of an ancient inhabitant. The parish church is dedicated to All Saints and is built in the Early English style, with a Norman chancel arch and some Norman windows remaining.

The hamlet of Johns Cross, on the main A21 road, is situated within the parish; this being the location of Mountfield and Whatlington School. From the 17th century Gypsum, a prime ingredient of plaster, has been mined in Mountfield. The mine is connected to the mainline to Hastings.

Unfortunately Mountfield Halt for passengers using this line was closed in 1969. Near to the site of the halt is the former Methodist Chapel built in 1894 on land donated by the Earl of Ashburnham. The building, now a residence, also sports the former name board from the railway halt.

The British Gypsum mine in Mountfield is among the few still working in the country and is by far the largest industrial establishment in rural Rother. Much of the parish is heavily wooded, with a significant acreage designated as Ancient Woodland.

In 1862 William Butcher discovered the Mountfield Hoard while ploughing in his field close to Taylors Cottage. Thinking the yellow metal was brass he sold it to a local ironmonger who, recognising that it was in fact about 12lb of gold items, melted most of it down to avoid it being claimed by the Crown as treasure trove.

Places of worship:

Church details, together with baptism, marriage, monumental inscription & burial records can be accessed by clicking on the church name.

Maps:

Militia records etc:

Roll of Honour has details of the war memorial in the church, together with information on those listed.

Other links relating to this parish:

The Parish of Mountfield The primary purpose of this site is to provide an information resource for those of us fortunate enough to live or work in Mountfield - more particularly, we seek to encourage residents to engage fully in the life of the parish, to make full use of the community facilities and services available, to support community initiatives and, where possible, to 'buy local' in order to safeguard local jobs and livelihood

Poll Registers:

The OPC database contains 50 poll register entries for people entitled to vote in this parish.

1641 Protestation Returns:

There are no protestation returns for this parish in the OPC database.

Gazettes:

The OPC database contains 21 entries for people associated with this parish mentioned in Gazettes.